US in Economic Recovery! Hooray?

As unemployment numbers dip and "evidence" shows that consumer and business spending may increase, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says the economic recovery is happening! So dust off your bars of gold and get to shopping, everybody! What? You're still barely scraping by? Huh.

I'm not trying to be a pessimist here, and I want to support any positivity coming out of Washington (it's tough to do that these days), but if a nice, Obama-supporting liberal like me is skeptical of this news, I can't imagine what Sarah Palin must be tweeting right now.

What are we supposed to do with this revelation?

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Housing prices are dropping in my state. Again. I have friends who have been out of work for way too long, and I don't hear anyone screaming success these days. Which is a big part of the problem. As long as no one "feels" like they're doing better, no one is going to buy that vacation home, or even the new sweater from The Gap until it goes on sale.

Not unlike the news that Dr. Wakefield is a complete and total fraud, people who just know something in their gut will not be easily swayed by evidence. So that leaves us where, exactly?

I'll continue to make buying decisions that save me money, use coupons, and wait for sales. I probably won't be investing anything in the stock market. Of course that wouldn't change even if there's a new tech boom that drags our economy out of this painfully slow recovery. Which is probably the best thing to happen as a result of this recession. Belt tightening and lack of impulsive actions are sorely needed in our populace.

But that warm and fuzzy feeling about living in the greatest country ever, one that is always on the upswing, is not going to materialize anytime soon. No matter what the Fed announces.